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Depressurization of oxygen cylinder in Chelyabinsk hospital results in flame, not blast

The fire in the oxygen booth near a polyclinic converted into a hospital for COVID-19 patients began on Saturday morning

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. There was no explosion in the oxygen booth of a coronavirus hospital in Chelyabinsk, there was flame emission due to the depressurization of the cylinder, Pavel Yekimov, the head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Main Directorate in the Chelyabinsk Region, told reporters.

"At the time of the firefighters’ arrival, an annex to the building where oxygen cylinders were stored was on fire. During the fire, the container was depressurized, as a result of which the fire intensified and spread to the hospital building and the neighboring residential building," he said.

Yekimov noted that 158 patients and 40 staff members had been evacuated from the hospital. He added that 25 people had been evacuated from the residential building.

The fire in the oxygen booth near a polyclinic converted into a hospital for COVID-19 patients began on Saturday morning. The fire spread to the hospital itself and the residential building. By now, it has been extinguished.

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